WATCH: Biden Defense Spox Defends ‘Timing’ Of New Rule Paying for Abortion Expenses – Right Before Midterms
Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder defended the “timing” of a new rule on paying abortion expenses for servicemembers, which was announced weeks before the midterm elections.
On Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced measures “to ensure that Service members and their families can access reproductive health care,” which include establishing allowances “to facilitate official travel to access non-covered reproductive health care that is unavailable within the local area of a Service member’s permanent duty station.”
At Thurday’s Defense Department briefing, a reporter asked about the “timing” of the move, and Ryder defended it:
Q: (O)n the Dobbs memo today. Could you talk a little bit first about the timing of the memo, we are just a few weeks away from the midterm elections. And abortion has become such a central topic of this election. For the service members who are at bases across the U.S., how does this memo really protect them if they seek abortion care services? But first they have to go through one chain of command then another chain of command then another chain of command? How are you really going to protect their privacy and ensure they get the access they need?
GEN. RYDER: In terms of the Dobbs memo in regards to the timing. As I mentioned in my opening comments, the department took a very deliberate and thoughtful approach. We commented on — on the decision as soon as it was made and have been working very hard over the last few months to come up with an approach that’s going to address service member concerns and help clarify DOD policies. I think that the fact that taking care of our people continues to be the number one priority. There is no timeline in terms of — we can’t work fast enough when it comes to taking care of our people.
And so, as I mentioned, we, following the Dobbs decision, we put together a DOD wide, multidisciplinary team that analyzed all of the different aspects. We sought feedback from service members to address their concerns. And then, as the secretary’s memo highlights, in the time before the end of the year here, we’ll continue to work on policies that do address how we can best create a uniform policy in regards to service member privacy, and making sure that they have the information they need to make informed decisions.
Q: Could you just address specifically how to protect service members at local bases as they try and go through their chain of command?
GEN. RYDER: On Dobbs, in terms of the service member. A — again, I think the memo makes very clear that we want to establish policies and procedures so that there is uniformity, that there is clarity on what service members rights are when it comes to privacy. It also makes very clear that it’s incumbent upon commanders to be mindful not only of the readiness of their units, but also of the privacy and the wellbeing of the service members, to include their privacy. And so, what you’ll see, with more to follow, is how we will implement those decisions in a way that is applicable to all service members across the Department of Defense. Thank you.
Watch above via The Pentagon.
